The Suharto regime has been holding power in Indonesia for over 30 years, shutting down democracy time and time again. Highly critical of the regime and unafraid to speak his mind, Wiji Thukul is a poet whose words are often yelled proudly by the crowd during political protests. When riots break out in Jakarta in 1996, he and a few other activists are accused to be responsible. Forced to flee, Wiji escapes to Pontianak in Borneo where he hides for eight months, sometimes living with complete strangers.

There, he has to change his identity several times, but continues to write poetry and short stories under a pen name. In the meantime, in Solo, central Java, his wife, Sipon, lives with their two children under constant surveillance. In May 1998, Wiji Thukul is declared missing, a month before Suharto is deposed by his own people.

Dialita is a choir group that is singing songs that have been silenced for more than 50 years. Members of the choir are survivors, family members, and supporters of those who have been prosecuted during Indonesia’s purge against communism starting in 1965. This campaign has imprisoned, tortured, and killed hundred of thousands people who are associated with communism. This year, the choir group is recording and launching an album with young musicians with an aim to get young audience to recognize a dark part of Indonesian history, and to raise from fear and silence.